Hera Syndulla
Hera Syndulla is a female Twi'lek in the Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels. She is the captain/pilot of the freight ship the Ghost, and owner of the astromech droid known as Chopper. Background Personality Hera is known to be very strong-minded, but at the same time she is warm and nurturing. She is more of the mother figure towards the crew of her ship, whenever there is a problem she knows how to talk to them, and keep them together when one of them falls apart, as well as helping them find the goodness in themselves. Hera has a no-nonsense style of command, she is known for being a very warm, compassionate and diplomatic individual, she is also highly intelligent, thoughtful and observant. Powers and Abilities *'Expert Markswoman:' Hera is extremely skilled in utilizing blaster pistols. *'Expert Pilot:' Hera is extremely skilled in piloting every type of flying craft. Weapons and Equipment *'Blurrg-1120 holdout blaster:' Hera utilizing a Blurrg-1120 holdout blaster as her weapon of choice. Role in the series Season One The Machine in the Ghost After raiding an Imperial supply depot, Hera, Kanan and Chopper's lives were in jeopardy, with four TIE Fighters attacking their ship. After taking a hit, the ship's comms and shields were fried. Hera sent Chopper to fix the shields until moments later, she sent Chopper to fix the comm instead, leaving the shields still down. Chopper passed on a message from Kanan to "fly better" which she took to heart and commenced some daring maneuvers. She looped the Ghost behind the pursuing TIEs and using the nose turret took out one of the fighters, reducing Kanan's targets buy half. After Chopper took out the last fighter, the three of them met on the bridge, where they praised each other's shooting. Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion Hera showed up with the Ghost after her fellow Rebels stole Imperial crates from the Empire and picked up a passenger. Hera was impressed with what Kanan told her about Ezra and suspected that he may be force-sensitive. With four TIE Fighters on their tail, Hera piloted the Ghost out into space and once clear made the jump to lightspeed. Soon after losing the TIEs, the Rebels returned to Lothal and landed near Tarkintown where Hera and Kanan delivered a crate of blasters to criminal boss Cikatro Vizago, who gave them some Intel on an Imperial Transport carrying Wookiee Prisoners to an unknown slave labor camp. The Rebels arrived at the Imperial Transport Hera brought the Ghost alongside, telling the Imperials they had orders to transfer an additional Wookiee Prisoner. As Kanan, Zeb, Sabine and Chopper went aboard, Hera along with Ezra stayed with the ship where they spotted an incoming Star Destroyer. Hera told Ezra he needed to go and warn the others but did not feel he could and insisted they make a run for it while they could. In the end, he reluctantly went aboard the transport ship to warn them after Hera gave him some encouragement to risk his life for others. Thanks to Ezra, the Rebels made it back to the ship and escaped. However, when Zeb told the crew he left Ezra behind, Hera said they should rescue him as she knew they were responsible for getting him involved. Zeb and Sabine were not keen on rescuing him, knowing the Empire would be waiting for them but Chopper voted with Hera and with Kanan's deciding vote they went back to rescue him. Hera piloted the Ghost aboard the Star Destroyer undetected and the Rebels were able to find Ezra and escape to hyperspace with intel on where exactly the Wookiee prisoners were. She set course for Kessel and upon arriving opened fire on the Imperials giving her fellow Rebels a clear path. However they were ambushed by the Imperials and Hera had to retreat with TIE Fighters opening fire on her ship. Hera flew away in order to lose the TIEs and later returned to pick of the others. After sending the Wookiees on their way, the Rebels returned Ezra to Lothal but the latter chose to join the crew after being given a choice to join their Rebellion and learn the ways of the Jedi. The Series It was revealed through the second half of the first season that Hera had contacts with a secret Rebel known as "Fulcrum" (aka Ahsoka Tano). At the time, Sabine became curious to know who Fulcrum was but every time she asked her, Hera just answered her questions without really answering them as she was not to reveal the identities of their contacts. That way if captured, they could not reveal anything. In "Vision of Hope", Hera showed the Ghost team a message revealing that Senator Gall Trayvis was coming to Lothal. Ezra later came back and told them Kallus was planning an operation to capture the Senator. The next day, Hera noticed that the Stormtroopers were stationed everywhere but have not moved in yet which made them realize it was a trap with Trayvis as the bait. They got inside and warned the Senator when they were surrounded by Kallus and his task force. Trayvis urged them to surrender but Zeb and Sabine, who came in through the roof, helped them escape. Upon getting outside, they quickly headed into the sewer where Trayvis claimed to be tired just before Kallus showed up. The Rebels split up with Hera and Ezra going with Trayvis. Acting upon recent suspicions, Hera handed Trayvis a blaster and told him to watch their backs. Suddenly, Trayvis turned the blaster on them and revealed that he was an Imperial agent and that his voice of truth speeches were just an act to trick real dissenters into coming out of hiding so they could be identified by the ISB. These unfortunate Rebels were then watched or killed by the Imperial Government after meeting with him. After Trayvis mocked Ezra's parents, Hera defended the Bridgers and told him they were not gone. Trayvis tried to shoot her for this only to discover that the blaster was not charged. Hera knocked him out stating "A true Rebel would know if he's holding a charged blaster." She then told a shocked Ezra she gave Trayvis the blaster to trick him into revealing his true colors. The others later showed up and they all escaped thanks to Kanan. When Kanan was captured by the Empire, Hera was ordered by Fulcrum to withdraw from their attempts to rescue him after reminding her that Kanan understood the risks and Ezra, the crew's remaining Jedi, was too important to risk losing. When Hera told the crew they could no longer continue their search for Kanan, her fellow Rebels refused to give up on him and hide. They disobeyed her orders and went to Vizago for some intel on how they could find Kanan. Despite being very disappointed with the three of them, she went ahead with Ezra's leadership and thanks to Chopper they were able to hack into the Empire's communications ship and discover where the Empire was keeping Kanan. After stealing an Imperial Freighter, Hera and the Rebels journeyed to Mustafar, where the Imperials had Kanan. They deployed a TIE Fighter and landed it aboard Tarkin's Star Destroyer which released and electromagnetic pulse, disabling the entire ship. With the ship down, Hera and the Rebels went aboard, but when their only way to Kanan was sealed up, Hera, along with Zeb and Sabine went a separate way while Ezra took a short cut through the ventilation shafts. After learning that Kanan was safe, Hera, Zeb and Sabine boarded their Rebel TIE Fighter and escaped with the other Rebels, led by Ahsoka Tano. Season Two Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal Following Kanan's rescue, the Ghost crew became part of a larger rebellion. After a mission, Chopper came in with a message from Minister Tua, who offered to defect to the Rebellion in exchange for them helping her get off Lothal which they accepted at Ezra's urging. Afterwards, Hera confronted Kanan for his behavior and he admitted that he did not like being part of the Rebel Network's army because of the Clone Wars and how it led to the Rise of the Galactic Empire. Their mission to help Tua ultimately failed when she got killed by Kallus. After realizing the whole thing was a trap to turn Lothal against them, Hera stated they must leave immediately and Kanan decided they must steal a shuttle from the Imperial Complex. On the way to the shuttle, they were ambushed by Darth Vader and his task force, who had predicted what they would do and had been lying in wait for them. After escaping, Hera, to the chagrin of Kanan and Ezra, made a deal with Lando Calrissian to get them off Lothal, unaware that the shuttle they stole had a homing device on it, which was why Vader let them go. Upon arriving back at the fleet, Chopper told them of the device's activation which made the Ghost crew realize they led the Empire right back to the fleet. Darth Vader soon arrived and caused severe damage to the fleet, forcing a retreat. To buy the other Rebels time to escape, the Ghost crew kept Vader busy before escaping as well. The Series After the destruction of Pheonix Home, the Rebellion is in need of a base. Ahsoka told them where they could find an old friend of hers. When her friend turned out to be a Clone Trooper, Hera urged Kanan to trust him. Later she was horrified to learn that there were more Inquisitors. More of Hera's past is revealed during the Blockade of Ibaar: When she was a little girl, The Clone Wars broke out over Ryloth and she was inspired to become a pilot by the Jedi and Clones who fought to help liberate her world. Hearing her story, Quarrie decided to let her fly his ship: The B-Wing, which she later used to break the blockade. Much later even more of her past is revealed on Ryloth: Hera's father is Cham Syndulla, the Liberator of Ryloth. Her father led her people against the CIS to liberate their world. When the Republic became the Empire, the Elder Syndulla began a revolt against the Empire. After her mother was killed, Hera left Ryloth and joined the Rebel Network. It is also revealed by her father and Chopper that during this time she became Chopper's mistress after she rescued him from the wreckage of a crashed Y-Wing during the Clone Wars. Video games ''Disney INFINITY Hera appears as a non-playable character in the Toy Box of ''Disney INFINITY 3.0. To unlock her, the player has to log in to their Disney account in the game.Image of Hera and The Ghost in Disney INFINITY 3.0 Hera was originally going to be a playable character in the third game, but after Disney INFINITY was confirmed to have been discontinued in May 2016, it was implied that Hera was canceled. Relationships Family Cham Syndulla Cham is Hera's father. The two initially had a close relationship as he was her inspiration to become a freedom fighter after Palpatine declared himself Emperor. Their relationship became strained after Hera's mother was killed because Cham began focusing his attention entirely on freeing Ryloth without intrest in other worlds. Feeling neglected and realizing that her people's freedom required the Empire's overthrow, Hera made the choice to leave home to join the Rebel Network. Friends and Allies C1-10P Hera became Chopper's mistress after she rescued him from a crashed Y-Wing and repaired him. Cham Syndulla later complained that Hera paid more attention to Chopper, who he called a "Second-rate junkpile", than him. When Hera left Ryloth to join the Rebel Network Chopper went with her. Kanan Jarrus Hera met Kanan after she left Ryloth to form her own Rebel Cell. Hera soon learned he was a Jedi and helped the lost Jedi find his path and grew to care for him. When the Rebels met Rex, Hera was sympathetic with his distrust for the Clones but she also urged him to put that aside for the sake of the Rebellion. She was deeply saddened when Kanan returned from Malachor blinded. Ahsoka Tano Hera met Ahsoka after the Togruta arrived on Ryloth during the Clone Wars. Hera greatly respected Ahsoka for her bravery during the fight to liberate her homeworld. She reunited with Ahsoka after she joined the Rebel Network. Hera obeyed Ahsoka's commands usually without question and when she spoke of her to the rest of the crew, she called her by her codename Fulcrum. Hera was saddened when she learned of Ahsoka's supposed demise on Malachor. Garazeb Orrelios Hera met Zeb sometime after the Fall of Lasan. Like with Kanan, she helped the Lastat find a new purpose in his life and grew to care for him. She also showed understanding for his fear of the disruptors that were used in his people's destruction. Sabine Wren Hera met Sabine sometime during the latter's days as a bounty hunter. Sabine resented Hera's secrecy due to her history in the Imperial Academy on Mandalore and made every effort to find out who Fulcrum was but was thwarted by Hera at every turn. Ezra Bridger Hera met Ezra during one of her cell's raids. Like the others, she didn't like or trust him at first. She grew to care for him for his incresing sense of comradry and zeal. Ezr saw Hera as a surrogate mother and unlike Sabine, respected Hera's wishes to keep Fulcrum's intel on a need-to-know basis. Lando Calrissian Lando flirted with Hera time to time but when Lando presented Hera to Azmorigan as his new slave, she was not happy at Lando and after she escape, Hera, angry at Lando for making her go through with this mission, punched him in the groin. Despite her anger and dismay about Lando, she still helped with the Rebel's part of the deal and helped him smuggled a Puffer pig back to Lothal. Hera was the one to mention Lando and get the idea to make a deal with him in Siege of Lothal. Enemies Gall Trayvis Hera greatly repected Gall for his voice of truth speeches. She met Gall in person after Kallus set a trap for her Cell. After escaping Kallus's ambush, Hera saw that he wasn't used to running from the Empire and realized he was not what his speeches made him appear and after he began asking Ezra about them she realized his seeming incompetence was actually an attempt to get them captured. This was confirmed afterwards when Gall revealed he was actually an Imperial agent. Gallery Trivia *In Greek mythology, Hera was the goddess of family, marriage, and in some cases matriarchy. Ironically, the goddess' nature was vengeful and cruel towards illegitimate or unfavorable children. Hera Syndulla's attitude and nurturing towards the team retains the former part of the goddess' personality. *She is the daughter of Cham Syndulla, a Twi'lek from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, who was her inspiration to become a Rebel. *By the time of the series, Hera is twenty-four years old. *Hera is voiced by Vanessa Marshall, who is also known for voicing Mouse on fellow Disney series Fish Hooks, as well as many female characters in DC Comics cartoons and Irwin on the Cartoon Network series The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. **Vanessa Marshall had sparked much hype over portraying Hera, as she is a Star Wars fan and self-proclaimed nerd. References Category:Star Wars characters Category:Aliens Category:TV Animation Characters Category:Characters Category:Pilots Category:Star Wars Rebels characters Category:Animated characters Category:Females Category:Heroines Category:Captains Category:Rebel Alliance Characters Category:Thieves Category:Disney INFINITY characters Category:Characters in video games